1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilet seats and bidet basins, and more particularly to a toilet seat and a toilet seat cover and a bidet basin to be permanently installed by the consumer at his own option in lieu of the toilet seat cover.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
In co-pending patent applications, entitled COMBINATION WATER CLOSET AND BIDET, Ser. Nos. 774,012; 774,016; filed on Mar. 3, 1977, I have described a water closet and a bidet both adapted to each other into a composite and unified structure. I have described therein how all the different parts and components of the unified structure mate and interrelate in harmony without the use of technical gadgetry as in other related inventions. However, the toilet seat and overlying bidet basin of my invention have not been described and illustrated in detail in said applications. I have become aware that my invention needs additional patent protection. Also, certain features and details of my invention, in particular the structure of the toilet seat have developed still further, as will be illustrated below.
This particular application for a patent relates to the unique shape of a toilet seat which also allows a uniquely shaped full-sized bidet basin to overlie and penetrate said toilet seat. Present day toilet seats do not have openings large enough to receive a full-sized bidet bowl. The patents issued to Ippolito Salvoni, mentioned later, give ample proof of this fact. The problem arises from the different requirements and specifications for a toilet seat and a bidet bowl as related to human anatomy and the functions of elimination on one hand compared with washing and rinsing of perineum and genitals on the other. The opening in a bidet basin has to be wide enough in the area of the human seat to allow a certain portion of the buttocks surrounding the ischial tuberosities to be somewhat received; the opening in a bidet basin has to be long enough to give room for perineum and genitals, measuring an average distance of 6-12 inches, and additional space has to be provided for the insertion of the user's hand during washing and rinsing. A toilet seat should be dimensioned to comfortably suspend the perineum over a toilet bowl for the purpose of elimination. If the opposite support areas for the thighs are spaced too far apart, as far apart as required for the human seat in a bidet basin, the toilet seat becomes very uncomfortable. For this reason the conventional toilet seat has a relatively narrow seat opening. Conventional toilet seats and full-sized bidet bowls are obviously not compatible. The toilet seat of my invention is unique in that its only support areas for the thighs of the seated user are located in the middle portion of the seat; the front and rear portions of the seat have enlarged openings and no support areas for the thighs. The overlying bidet basin has matching enlarged front and rear portions. The front portion is large enough to receive a certain portion of the human seat surrounding the ischial tuberosities, the rear portion is wide and long enough for the insertion of the user's hands during washing and rinsing. The middle portion of the bidet basin is for the support of the user's thighs, the user straddling said bidet basin.
Conventional toilet seats are small and also ill-fitted for easy and hygienic defecation and urination. Even the elongated conventional seat barely gives adequate clearance lengthwise for perineum and genitals of the average user. To make it worse, the conventional seat positions the thighs of the user relatively parallel to each other and parallel to the horizontal plane of the toilet seat thus making defecation most difficult. A critical investigation and analytical discussion of the conventional toilet seat and requirements related to elimination and personal hygiene are to be found in Alexander Kira's book, The Bathroom.
Prior art toilet seat constructions have offered new shapes for replacement of the conventional toilet seat. One group, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 807,305; 1,163,149; Des. 222,965; Des. 226,912; 3,786,522; features a rear portion of the seat being sloped upwardly and rising above the normal surface of the seat to prevent the user to sit or lean backwards, urging him to bend forward at the waist. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 3,786,522 encourages the user to spread the legs by making it uncomfortable to rest the thighs on a ridge detail on the inner sides of opposite front portions of the seat. U.S. Pat. No. 2,099,118 puts the user into a "squatting position" by featuring a seat structure of a curved or bowed construction. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 222,466 has enlarged inwardly sloped opposite middle and front portions for supportive engagement of the user's thighs in the front portion of the seat with an enlarged rear portion and an oblong narrow front portion of its opening. This construction angles the legs upwardly and locates the perineum at a lower elevation than the outer peripheral edge surface areas of the seat.
Toilet paper is inadequate for cleaning the anus and perineum after elimination. Water is the natural, easiest and best means to accomplish this. U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,769 has incorporated water sprays into the toilet seat. The user remains seated while a spray from below is activated. This construction and others, which introduce the water spray from a point outside the toilet seat structure, do not give the benefits of a bidet bowl which is a wash basin fitted under the perineum. The conventional toilet seat is ill-fitted for the purpose of defecation, it is worse yet for the purpose of rinsing the perineum from below. The underside of the seat gets wetted and soiled, water is spilled on the floor, the thighs are not placed in a proper straddling position as over a bidet bowl.
The bidet basin is the proper washbowl for rinsing and washing of the perineum and genitals, not the toilet bowl. The user straddles the bidet basin facing the rear where water controls are conveniently located, controlling water temperature and water flow with one hand and using the other hand for rinsing and washing the perineum and/or genitals. Bidet basins are also widely used for sitzbath purposes. In the average bathroom there is just no room provided for an additional bidet fixture. Space and cost saving factors in combination with poorly conceived and engineered detailing of present day bidets made of vitreous china which is cold to the touch of human skin have not helped to make the bidet a popular item in the average bathroom.
The concept of combining a bidet basin with a toilet is relatively old. Quite a few prior art constructions have been patented in the past. One type: a portable bidet basin for temporary positioning over a toilet bowl or toilet seat is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,947,994; 3,072,918; 3,490,079; 3,577,567; 3,654,636. Other prior art constructions illustrate a permanent arrangement of a bidet basin adapted for use with a toilet as for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,348,518; 1,612,665; and a number of patents issued to Ippolito Salvoni, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,036,984; 2,036,985; 2,070,622; 2,075,061; 2,080,438; 2,104,210. In almost all these constructions the bidet basin has been adapted to fit into or over existing toilets or toilet seats. Almost all of these structures have in common that only one partner of the union, the bidet basin, including hardware and technical apparatus for pivotal and water supply connections, has been adapted, the toilet seat or the toilet itself has not. Obviously, these structures are limited to the shape of the toilet and the usual toilet seat, ill-fitted to receive a bidet bowl as discussed above; therefore they have not become popular or commercially available.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a more functional toilet seat and a seat cover wherein the toilet seat has been adapted to receive an overlying full-sized adapted bidet basin to replace the seat cover at the sole option of the consumer.
Another object of my invention is to provide a toilet seat engineered according to human specifications for easy defecation in the semi-squat position, a seat which also allows for a full-sized adapted bidet basin to overly its seat portion and penetrate its opening.
Another object of my invention is to provide a full-sized bidet basin which has been engineered according to human specifications: to fit comfortably under the human seat and perineum, to provide a water seal against the underside of the buttocks, to give ample support surfaces for the thighs, to spread the thighs and buttocks properly, to allow for the insertion of the hands, to provide for proper clearances, drainage, water supply, etc., and also to be adapted to fit over and into an adapted toilet seat.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a toilet seat and a bidet basin, both being adapted to each other in a mating and interrelating relationship.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a toilet seat and a bidet basin, both engineered according to optimal hygienic conditions required for defecation, urination and for personal hygiene after elimination and for general perineal hygiene.
Yet another object of my invention is to provide a bidet basin, which can be purchased by the consumer to permanently replace the toilet seat cover of an adapted toilet seat which has been purchased at an earlier time together with a new toilet, thus allowing the average person with an average-sized bathroom, in the home or apartment, the benefits of personal hygiene of a bidet basin at a small additional and optional cost over the cost of a new toilet.